|
NOW'S THE TIME TO HIT THE
LAKES
By: Ron Wilson
|
Bruce Hamby with a 2 lb Koke |
June 12, 2010.... For the last 3 weeks
fishing has been wide open for bass, salmon and trout. The best bass
fishing has been at
New Melones.
The bass bite has been so wide open there
that most real good black
bass anglers have been limiting out in an hour or two. The
spotted bass have been the main targeted species of bass. The water
level at New Melones has finally started to rise. Seems our experts
chose to send most of the water through the delta to flush it out the
first 4 months of the year instead of trying to save some for a non
rainy day.
At
lake Don Pedro the bass have been having a very hard time staying
up shallow as the water has risen so fast that when they made a bed to
spawn on they were 20 to 30 feet deep in a few days. The lake is brim
full now so the fishery is starting to stabilize. Lots of bass, trout
and salmon being caught.
The lake I have been concentrating on the
last couple weeks has been
Lake McClure. I have watched it come up and up and up until its
at the last turnaround at the south Barretts Cove launch ramp. I look
for the lake to reach real close to full capacity by the end of June.
The fishing there has been awesome for
trout and salmon. Mike Monschein, his friend Elmer and I used an
assortment of Ex-Cel Lures to catch 3 limits of trout from 15-17 inches
in just a couple hours.
On another trip we arrived at noon and
limited out by
5 p.m. The wind in this lake really makes for some tough trolling
as the best spot for catching trout was at the mouth of
Temperance and the main lake channel. The fish lately have really
preferred suspending over the 200 to 300 foot channels in around 40 to
50 feet of water.
Guide Bruce Hamby and I have been out a
couple times pounding the salmon on the lake. The fish have been running
from 50 to 110 feet deep in the same area as the trout lately. Bruce is
experimenting with all kinds of baits other than shad to target salmon.
He is perfecting hard and
soft plastics to catch them. He has had several big salmon on but
his clients can't seem to get them in the boat. His best fish so far has
been in the 5 pound range. But he has watched his clients loose bigger
ones at the boat.
We caught and released 25 plus fish up to
2 pounds. Our goal was to catch a big picture salmon for PR but we never
found the big ones.
|
Mike Monschein with a small Salmon |
I recently went with Mike Monschein for
an early limit of trout, salmon and kokanee up to 2 pounds. I drove his
boat and finally found some real good marks at 50 feet down by the dam.
Mike dropped his Ex-Cel lure down to their level from 40 feet to 50 feet
when one smacked it. The fish headed down to the depths pulling drag.
After 3 trips I finally had him hooked into one of the bigger kings. I
watched as the bent rod would pump as the fish shook its head trying to
dislodge the lure. As it turned out it was another typical long distance
release without us ever getting a look at him. Mike enjoyed the fight
but would of loved to just have a good look at one of the big boys that
are living in the lake.
My advice for anyone who wants to learn
about fishing for trout, salmon or kokanee is to hire a guide. They have
dropped there prices back to what they were charging in the 90's right
now. I don't see how they are making a living. They are charging $75 a
head with a 3 fishermen minimum. That is $225. Now you take out $100 for
expenses, gas fuel entry fee, etc and that leaves $125. Then you figure
he has to stay in touch with the fish so he has to fish a day searching
and keeping tabs on what the fish are doing and where they are that
leaves him $25. If things don't turn around I can see a lot of guides
parking there boats and going out of business in the central valley.
If your main interest is catching salmon
in the local lakes or even
Lake Shasta which is the best fishery in the state in my opinion
I suggest Sierra Sportfishing Guide Bruce Hamby. He has 40 years of on
the water experience and I learn something new from him about catching
our
lake salmon every year.
Call Bruce at 679-7212. |
